Saturday begins the last regular-season round, and the Sheffield Shield race has narrowed to three teams, with South Australia and Queensland fighting to earn the right to face Victoria in the final scheduled March 26-30 (ET). The immediate cricket score focus is the 5. 78-point margin that separates South Australia from Queensland; a Queensland win in the final round would see the Bulls leap into second.
Victoria confirmed hosting rights with two matches to play and reinforced their dominance with a seventh win this season against Tasmania, a run that has secured them top spot and control of the decider venue.
Cricket Score: South Australia and Queensland locked in a straight fight
South Australia and Queensland, who were last season’s finalists, now occupy the positions that will determine who meets Victoria at the Junction Oval. Fixtures include a home match for one contender and an away fixture at the Junction Oval listed for Mar 14-17, and the outcome of those fixtures will decide the runner-up across the final home-and-away weekend.
Victoria’s selection questions at the Junction Oval
With hosting rights already secured, Victoria face selection decisions ahead of the decider. The side pushed on after their seventh win of the campaign and have several frontline seam options to manage; Fergus O’Neill is a candidate to rest after featuring in every game, and the group of in-form seamers—Sutherland, O’Neill, Scott Boland, Sam Elliott and Mitch Perry—compete for spots should spinner Todd Murphy be retained.
Points system details that will shape late cricket score tactics
The competition’s scoring system will influence how teams chase early advantages in the first innings. Teams receive six points for an outright win and one point for a draw. Bonus points are awarded at 0. 01 for every run scored over 200 during the first 100 overs of the first innings (for example, 350 after 100 overs nets 1. 5 bonus points) and 0. 1 for every wicket taken inside the first 100 overs of the opponent’s first innings (ten wickets before 100 overs nets 1 point). Individual scoring battles also matter: Peter Handscomb and Sam Harper top the runs chart on 640 each, figures that underline who could tilt tight matches in the closing fixtures.
The next confirmed milestone is the final regular-season round, Mar 14-17, with the Sheffield Shield final set for March 26-30 (ET). If Queensland win their last fixture, they will leapfrog South Australia and force a rematch with Victoria in the decider.
